Mercury

[Clyd3]

I've become obsessed with the stuff.
Anyone got cool projects to do with the stuff?
Anyone know cool ways of getting the stuff?

 

[Dr.EM]

I shouldn't think its too easy to obtain. You realise its poisonous and that the vapours can cause madness and serious skin problems?

 

[Clyd3]

emphasize the madness part, but yeah I know its poisonous and that the vapour has pretty interesting side effects, thanks for bringing up safety stuff, i shoulda done that, do you know of any cool mercury projects?

 

[Clyd3]

two things of practical use:
1 tilt switches (we all know that one - but can we think of many other uses)
2 used for sabotaging german planes long ago, by pasting mercury on
aluminium parts, causing them to break up into pieces, with a sorta rust.
Still got to check the exact physics of that.

 

[Roff]

I've become obsessed with the stuff.
Anyone got cool projects to do with the stuff?
Anyone know cool ways of getting the stuff?

About 30 years ago I bought some. I think a pharmacy ordered it for me! Those days are long gone. :roll:
Did you do a search? Google found **broken link removed** and **broken link removed** (with a little extra digging). It ain't cheap!
Shipping to SA might also be a little steep.

 

[Clyd3]

i did google a bit for it, and yeah, it is steep for me, I'll tell you why in a second. I'll just have to make plans and look around first, before doing something.
A family friend from 6/7 years ago (i was 11 / 10) had mercury.
I wanted some, but my father didnt allow me to. I think he was right, because i didnt know too much about the hazards.
I could easily have gotten from him, because he had fishtanks full of the stuff, which he was getting rid of. When we walked in the yard all we saw were marbles floating in all this cool silvery liquid. AMAZING!!!
So now, i need to find out where he got soo much...
(knowing him he probably didnt spend too much anyway)

 

[Nigel Goodwin]

So now, i need to find out where he got soo much...
(knowing him he probably didnt spend too much anyway)

In which case he stole it :lol:

As you've found, Mercury is VERY expensive, I think it's also effectively a banned substance now in the UK?.

 

[MrMikey83]

My K-mart store is closing and I was in charge of cleaning out the electrical room. I found several old thermostat controls. Each one had 4 mercury switches except one that had broken and spilled somewhere. Does mercury evaporate? If not, it broke somewhere else because I found none on the floor.
My high school biology teacher used to have a large bottle half full of mercury but some ass told the wrong person and he had to get rid of it all.
~Mike

 

[Phasor]

Does mercury evaporate? If not, it broke somewhere else because I found none on the floor.

Here is something about mercury evaporation:

**broken link removed**

 

[Oznog]

Keep in mind mercury is quite dangerous. Despite common sense thinking a heavy liquid would stay put, it does vaporize and can cause very serious and permanent damage to nerves, especially to children. Inhalation goes straight into the bloodstream.

If it's spilled and you try to clean it up with a vacuum, it will only disperse into the air through the vac's exhaust and make the exposure astronomically worse.

If it's spilled on the ground it will permanently contaminate the soil and eventually make its way to the water table. It will also react chemically to form even more dangerous compounds. Cleanup teams are required.

Mercury was handled extremely poorly in the past. A single drop in a sealed glass switch tube wasn't so bad but as you noted some people just collected it because it was so "neat".

Honestly, don't play or mess with it, although it was treated as such in times long past it is not a toy. It's not only a hazard to you but an extreme hazard to the environment and people around you.

 

[moody07747]

here is a safe product that takes the place of mercury

**broken link removed**

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